Echinacea purpurea cultivar Jade.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea plant, botanically known as Echinacea purpurea, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Jadexe2x80x99.
The new Echinacea was discovered as a chance seedling of two unidentified selections of Echinacea purpurea, not patented. The new Echinacea was discovered and selected by the Inventor in 1995 as a single flowering plant in a controlled environment in Rijpwetering, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new Echinacea by divisions was first conducted in Rijpwetering, The Netherlands in 1995. Since then, asexual reproduction by divisions has shown that the unique features of this new Echinacea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Jade has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Jadexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Jadexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Echinacea:
1. Upright and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Freely basal branching growth habit.
3. Freely flowering habit.
4. White-colored ray florets and green-colored disc florets.
Plants of the new Echinacea differ primarily from plants of the parent selections in ray and disc floret coloration.
Plants of the new Echinacea can be compared to plants of the Echinacea cultivar White Lustre, not patented. However, plants of the new Echinacea have more inflorescences per lateral stem than plants of the cultivar White Lustre. In addition, plants of the new Echinacea and the cultivar White Lustre differ in ray and disc floret coloration.